Early Childhood practitioners, opinions please?

little miss sunshine1

For those of you who work or have worked in a crèche. Do you think that early years degrees ( i.e. a Level 7, Level 8,etc) in child care /early years are valued when working or seeking work in crèches in Ireland? From what I gather, managers only seem concerned about having years of experience.

Would you recommend working in crèches to a friend/ family member?

neris

they are valued and sought if a creche is looking for a senior teacher or trying to fill a management position however for those roles experience is needed. From a creches point fo view part of the general problem now is that there are alot of level 8 qualified people with very little experience looking for work at higher wages then a level 5 qualified who may have years more experience working in rooms and dealing with children. It wouldnt be something Id highly recommend as a career choice. Its hard work, long hours and staff arent appreciated as much as a primary teacher. Childcare is a cross between a social service & an educational industry.

little miss sunshine1

Thanks. I am qualified up to Level 8 and have had such a difficult time finding employment in the sector.

I have a over a year of experience working in a crèche.

It seems to me that a lot of staff are taken from Social Welfare schemes, e.g. C.E. schemes, but I could be wrong.

How is it possible to gain "years of experience" without even having the experience of a first job working in a crèche, or 'getting one's foot in the door'?

Is the reason why there are so many people with their basic Level 5 qualifications in crèches, is because owners' believe they won't seek out higher wages, and are seen as having 'cheap labour'?

For a primary teaching job, when applying, I doubt a person applying would even get an interview without having a third level education and a degree, but in the childcare sector, all is sought after is a very basic F.E.T.A.C. Level 5 in child care.

neris

alot of social welfare schemes would be in community creches, Ive never seen a social welfare scheme person in a private setting or applying for a job in a private creche. To get a foot in the door even though youve a level 8 you need to realise you dont have the experience on a day to day basis and wont be given the same responsibility or salary as some one with experience,

little miss sunshine1

I once worked in a private setting, and a lot of the staff were on a social welfare scheme, myself included.

To pursue a career in this area, is it nearly better to have very few qualifications and years of experience in order to get a job?